Canadian retailer Loblaw's quarterly profit rises 57 percent

People walk by a Loblaw Companies Limited grocery store with a Joe Fresh clothing store inside, on the day of the annual general meeting of shareholders in Toronto, May 2, 2013. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

(Reuters) - Canadian grocery and pharmacy retailer Loblaw Cos Ltd (L.TO) reported a 57 percent rise in quarterly profit, boosted by lower expenses in its retail business and discounting.

Loblaw, which sells everything from grocery to wireless mobile products, forecast 2017 capital expenditure to be at about C$1.3 billion ($989.27 million), slightly higher than the C$1.2 billion it spent in 2016.

The company’s revenue rose 2.4 percent to C$11.13 billion in the fourth quarter, beating the average analyst estimate of C$10.98 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.